A 24-Year-Old Piano Player Who Was Homeless for a Year and a Half Will Perform at Carnegie Hall

24-year-old James Matthews is a music student in Pensacola, Florida, and he's been playing piano since he was three years old. But he almost had to give it up a few years ago . . . when he became HOMELESS.

Now, it's not clear why, but his parents aren't in the picture. And after high school, he got into the music program at Florida Southern College, but couldn't afford a dorm.

So he spent more than a year and a half LIVING in the school's 24-hour piano studio, where he practiced up to 10 hours a DAY.

Eventually his teacher found him sleeping there. But instead of kicking him out, he got him into the music program at the University of West Florida, where they DID give him a dorm. And he'll graduate next year with a music degree.

But James also entered the American Protégé International piano competition this year, which is apparently a big deal. And he didn't win it, but he was an "honorable mention." Which means that on April 20th, he'll get to perform at CARNEGIE HALL in New York.

According to James, he decided that if he refused to give up on his dream, good things would eventually come his way. And now they have. (WPTV / Huffington Post)